Screened in Art Among the Stars 2025
TrekWarWho?
2025
planetarium show
5 min
TrekWarWho? is an homage to the thematic depths achieved in of Sci-Fi Film and Television through a blending of visuals and music. It is a visual exploration of the cosmos through World Wide Telescope with an original scored arrangement, composed and performed using a MIDI symphony orchestra is MuseScore. It weaves together science fiction’s most iconic themes and motifs from Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who — not as a remix, but as a thematic exploration of musical motifs.
TrekWarWho? is not a remix, but a unique arrangement using existing themes and leitmotifs as material — a thematic exploration of science fiction’s most iconic musical motifs — constructed entirely through technology. This piece transitions between these worlds and ideas through music and vivid astronomical imagery. It is a tribute to the genre’s power to imagine, to warn, and to inspire.
It opens with a bold symphonic arrangement of the Star Trek: Lower Decks theme by Chris Westlake, itself a tribute to the original Star Trek theme by Alexander Courage and the Next Generation theme composed by Jerry Goldsmith, setting a tone for exploration and curiosity as we fly out into space. The music then shifts into the Doctor Who theme, as arranged by Murray Gold, evoking a sense of temporal fluidity. As we journey past spinning planets and dying stars, this feeling of gravitas is disrupted by a sudden interjection of the Imperial March from Star Wars, composed by John Williams—a musical embodiment of control and looming tyranny. A blood-red sky underscores this shift. The Doctor Who theme attempts to return but is overtaken a second time by the Imperial March, until the moment is is quelled by Williams’ Twin Sunset motif, which offers a moment of relief. This moment allows the Doctor Who theme to re-emerge, now overlapping and intertwining with both Star Wars and Star Trek motifs. The three themes wrestle and converse before resolving into a return to Star Trek—hope, unity, and a sky filled with stars, endless possibilities, and strange new worlds.
Ishan G-C
Astronomy Department, Post-Baccalaureate Fellow
Ishan Ghosh-Coutinho is a Post-Bacc who received their bachelors in Astronomy last year. Ishan minored in Theatre Design for Performance, working on shows such as The Moors and Airness. Ishan primarily studies massive stars and variable stars, and they are excited to start graduate school in fall at KU Leuven in Belgium.
